It's hard work but Ivanovic says Chelsea will win trophies

It's hard work but Ivanovic says Chelsea will win trophies

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Sparta Prague 0-1 Chelsea

As far as signs of a recovery go, it is understandable if successive victories over Wigan and Sparta Prague have not done much to quicken the pulses of Chelsea fans.

Both displays were unconvincing and the team have shown little ability to sustain a winning run.

However, amid all the doom and gloom, the past dictates there is still a good chance the campaign can have a positive ending.

For while you can almost set your watch these days for when Chelsea suffer their annual mid-season blip, due to its regular occurrence around the time the clocks go back, it is also at this time of year that they appear to rediscover their form and go on to salvage the campaign with some silverware.

That was the case 12 months ago, when they were in a similarly dire position and ended up winning the Champions League and FA Cup.

It was also the situation in 2010, when they went on to win the Double, as well as 2009, when the FA Cup ended up in the trophy cabinet.

The fact remains that barring a collapse at Stamford Bridge next Thursday, they should book their place in the last 16 of the Europa League, while it is League One Brentford who stand between them and a place in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

They play their fourth-round replay at home on Sunday and victory in both cup competitions will mean they go into the League match on February 24 against faltering Manchester City, who are just four points ahead of them in second place in the League table, on the back of four successive wins.

Branislav Ivanovic, who played his 200th game for Chelsea last night, is counting on history repeating itself and having some trophies to celebrate come May.

When asked if he feels Chelsea can finish the season strongly, he told Standard Sport: “Yes, and for us it’s important, especially this season.

“We have had a lot of games. We have played every three days for the last four months. This has made it difficult. Sometimes you’re not recovered and don’t have a big enough squad. All these things affect results but you have to be stronger. Now we have some time, we can recover and play our games with a better performance.

“Yes [Chelsea can end the season with two trophies] but we have to be focused and go game by game.

“We are a team that can build and we have to think about this. We have to improve every game, every session and we hope it will be fine in the end.”

City, like Chelsea, have been inconsistent this season but Ivanovic believes his side have the ability to overhaul the champions in the table.

The defender added: “We have to be very careful that we take as many points as possible from every game in the League from now on.

“We have to look at ourselves and our performance. If we can make our play in the next few games better, it is possible [to catch City for second place in the League].”

If Brentford were watching Chelsea labour in Prague, though, they will have little to fear when they take on their close neighbours on Sunday.

Rafael Benitez’s side struggled for long periods, with striker Fernando Torres showing little sign of getting out of his slump which reads one goal from his last 13 appearances.

Torres will probably make way for Demba Ba, who is cup-tied in the Europa League, while Oscar should also start after his superb winner against Sparta with eight minutes remaining.

Benitez was thankful for the Brazilian’s goal and acknowledged that his side lacked a cutting edge.

“Eighteen attempts on goal away from home isn’t bad but we must be more clinical in attack,” said the interim head coach.

“Individually the defenders were doing a great job but as a team we had problems. We changed a few things in the second half and had more control, the concentration and intensity was much better.”

Chelsea’s display may have underwhelmed but Ivanovic feels it was still a vital hurdle to overcome on their Europa League debut with important fixtures to come.

He added: “It was a very important game for us to win and to keep the momentum going. It was our first match in the Europa League and it was difficult but we got the goal and that gave us the advantage.

“Sometimes in a different competition you’re not sure what to expect in the games but now we know much better. It was a good win for us.”

Chelsea fans will be hoping that it is the first of many and not just another false dawn.